Published by the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Indian Reservation, the newspaper started in 1956 and continued through five decades. With the exception of a ten-year hiatus from December 1961 through May 1971, the paper continues to publish a weekly issue. The name Char-Koosta is a combination of the names of the last two traditional leaders of the Salish and Kootenai Tribes. Charlo was the last traditional chief of the Bitteroot Salish and among the last of his people to move to the Jocko. Chief Koostahtah was the last of the Kootenai traditional leaders. His office was eliminated by the Constitution of 1935.